Long Weekend Links: January 16th, 2009

Hey folks–I’m working on a series of longer posts in response to a book I read recently; those will be up next week.  In the meantime, enjoy a few items of interest as we celebrate MLK, Jr., our new President, and a long weekend:

• I really encourage you to commit some of the free time this long weekend provides to volunteering in your community.  MLK day is also a national day of service, so click here to find opportunities in your community.  Katherine and I will be helping to create a community vegetable garden for a neighborhood of fixed-income seniors in San Antonio as volunteers with the Green Spaces Alliance.  Get out there and give a little time.

• This is an intriguing new site to help consumers understand the various (and multiplying) sustainability labels on everything from produce and coffee to windows and flooring.  The user interface could use some work, and from a few random spot-checks it seems like the database is slowly growing more robust in terms of the information offered on each certification program.  Nevertheless, I’m glad someone thought to bring this information together in one spot.  [Hat Tip: TreeHugger]

• Not being a web designer myself, I rarely think about the amount of effort and artistry that goes into even the most basic elements of many sites.  Working on a redesign project at work (with a contract designer for the heavy-lifting…I write the content) has helped me appreciate some of the finer points…and this blog takes my appreciation one step further: a gallery of pre-loading screens.  You know the type, “10%…20%…” screens that display as graphic- or flash-heavy sites load.  Check it out.  [Hat Tip: Andrew Sullivan].

• Matt Yglesias offers a helpful recommended reading list for folks who are interested in urban planning and transportation policy.  Adding these to the list…now if only Amazon would release Kindle 2.o…

• TAPPED breaks down 12 foods that absorb chemicals at alarming levels (making those a priority for organic alternatives as you cruise the grocery store aisle), and 10 foods with low absorbtion of pesticides and other undesireable additives.

• Monica O’Brien follows up on a post about the need for millennials/Gen Y’ers to pursue a second job by offering 10 suggestions for what that job could be.  Apparently I need to parlay my blogging into a guest columnist gig at a more reputable site (no pressure, eh?):

Blogging to demonstrate “expert” credentials is sooo 2007, but blogging IS a good way to test your writing skills and improve your understanding of a topic, which can lead to an article or column in a media publication. Start small, build a community around your blog, and use that momentum to land a stretch job writing about a topic that relates to your career.

Enjoy the weekend.  Volunteer.  Watch history.  Remember why you have the day off: